Night Out
by XanAxe14
Summary: Dottie O'Connor has social issues, and those issues get worse during Monday Night Raw. But she's not alone, she has her sister Cait O'Connor and a certain man that makes her feel safe. At least he keeps a promise to take her out to dinner. (A sequel of sorts for Money Lost.) Part 2 of the Dottie Series
1. Chapter 1

**1**

Dorothy (Dottie) O'Connor rocked to the rhythm of the sewing machine. Drew McIntyre needed his performance long jacket thing sewn up, the inner liner had come apart and Cait needed to deal with some sort of design issue with Alexa Bliss.

Dottie was oblivious to the things going on in the hall and the rest of the venue where Monday Night Raw was being held. Her eyes followed the line of the tear, overlapping the other edge of the side to create a seam. The hum of the machine was really enjoyable, though mastering the rhythm was initially daunting when she started out, it didn't take her long to forget about the world around her.

She'd been in her own world, in that place where there was nothing scary to lurk. She was with her job, something that she was thankful for. But then coming on the road, her only special places were the locker rooms where they set up the costume departments and her bunk on the staff bus. It was when Fergal, or Finn Bálor when he was performing, had stopped by to say hi, she felt that safety net shatter. That had been a while ago now, but it meant something to her whenever he even spoke to her.

Like the last time, when she cried when he didn't win the Money in the Bank ladder match. Of course she lost a bet to Rami, or Sami Zayn, which just made her feel worse. Fergal was nice enough to come by to see if she was okay, so that made her happy to the core and moon.

"Dot?" Drew McIntyre said as she was fingering the fixed seam. "You done yet?" He brought her out of her long thoughts of the Irish wrestler.

"Why are you so tall?" She asked as she stood up with his performance jacket. "It's bigger than me. I can play magic tricks with it. Now you see me, now you don't."

He laughed. "Yeah, my wife thought the same thing when I met her."

She looked at him. He was dark in hair, but he had bright blue eyes. Fergal was similar, only he was black haired with the same light blue eyes. But where Drew was big in height, Fergal was big in personality. Fergal was less tan than Drew. But the two of them had unique vocal tones, like music in her ears. Drew rolled his Rs, but Fergal's voice was lighter and more enjoyable to watch his mouth move when he talked. He also had nicer hands.

"I heard Rami upset you, Dot." Drew said. "Are you okay?"

"I lost twenty dollars." She held his jacket out to him. "I don't like Rami at the moment."

"Well, you're in luck. He's heading to Birmingham to check over his shoulder and back." Drew smiled at her.

Caitlin O'Connor, Dottie's younger sister, walked in. "What's going on?"

"Rami's gone. Good, he's rude." Dottie said as she went back to her chair.

Cait looked at Drew. "Really? For how long? Is he okay?"

"He's been having shoulder and back issues so they are checking him out in Birmingham." Drew said. "Good work on this, Dot."

"Thank you."

"Has Finn been by yet?" Drew asked.

"No."

Dottie looked down. She hadn't seen him either, usually he was the first to stop by before the show but not that Monday after Money in the Bank. He had told her about going out to eat, a dinner date. But he hadn't been by at the time.

"Well, I'll leave you to it, then." She looked up when Drew waved before leaving with his repaired performance coat thing.

Cait sighed. "Damn, what a day, huh?"

"I guess. Why? Did something happen?"

"Nemeth," Cait rolled her eyes.

Nick Nemeth, or Dolph Ziggler, was a superstar who never really seemed to talk to Dottie. Cait was the one that dealt with the superstars and their designs and the people like Triple H, all Dottie had to do was fix clothes.

"Is he being mean? Or rude?" She asked.

"Not to me, he isn't." Cait dropped her design book down on the small card table they had set up in there. "How are you doing?"

"I fixed Drew's performance coat thingy." Dottie picked up the BC logo jacket that Fergal gave her the night before.

"Do you want me to go find Fergal?" Cait asked.

"No," she glanced at her sister. "No. He needs to get ready for the show."

Cait pulled at her hair. They had the same red hair, but Cait's was shorter. Dottie liked her ponytail, even if the back of her neck got extremely hot when it was warm out.

"Nothing needs fixing." Dottie said.

"Yeah?" Cait looked around. "I guess you're right. Maybe they are being smart about their shit, huh?"

Dottie shrugged. "Maybe."

"It has nothing to do with you, Dot." Her sister's voice was tight. "And if it was, I would raise shit. Mr. H wouldn't let that happen."

Mr. H, also known as Triple H, or Paul Levesque. He was nice, when he was around. Him and His wife usually worked corporate but sometimes they came around. Mr. Angle was another person that showed up from time to time, asking how things were going. Those early days were hard, especially leaving that facility.

"Mom keeps calling." Dottie said. "She calls your phone."

"Yeah, well screw her."

"Screw who?"

Dottie looked up fast. Fergal was standing in the doorway in his ring gear. She looked away, her mouth not working right, any coherent thought had gone out of the window.

"Mommy dearest. I keep declining her calls and she just keeps calling. But then again, maybe it should have been her that was put into a crazy farm." Cait picked up her papers.

"How are you doing, Dottie?" Fergal asked.

"I'm okay because Rami isn't here." She glanced at him as she tried to find something to occupy her hands.

"Yes, I'm aware of that. I actually came by to ask if I could use my BC Logo jacket tonight. I'm wearing my MITB attire again."

She looked at the red leather jacket next to her in a chair. She'd worn it as they were loading the room up but had gotten a little too hot. But it hadn't left her side because it still smelt like him.

"Sure." She picked it up and headed over to him. Look at his face, look at his face… "Here."

"Are you doing anything after the show tonight?" He asked.

Her hand began to shake at her side. "No. I don't think so."

"I've been asked to come by SmackDown Live tomorrow. We'll be driving out tonight." Cait said. "Why?"

"I wanted to fulfill my promise of taking you to dinner, Dottie."

Cait and Dottie looked at each other. "I thought you would have forgotten." Dottie's fingers curled around the hem of her shirt she was wearing.

"I keep my promises, Dottie." When his hand brushed up against her back, it sent heat to all her extremities.

Cait made a sound. "This better not be a game, Devitt."

"It's not, Cait."

"Are you busy tomorrow?"

"I can drop her off, I was thinking of meeting with Gallows and Anderson and Styles anyway. Becky's been wanting to chat for a while."

"But I have to help set up the locker room." Dottie looked at her sister.

"No you don't. The other costume department workers will do that." Cait said. "This is a good chance for you to get out of your routine."

"But…" her lower lip quivered.

"Dottie," she looked at Fergal. His hand came up to her back. "Please? For me? Have dinner with me."

His thumb was rubbing her lower back. She may have enjoyed being around Fergal, even with him in his ring attire, but she knew where everything was supposed to go on all their setups, right to where even her sewing machine was supposed to be setup.

"I'll be gone at night, Cait."

"You'll survive. You've always survived without me being there." Her sister crossed her arms. "It'll be no different than traveling by bus, or by car. I have full trust in Fergal, don't I?"

Fergal nodded. "Yes, absolutely."

His hand was still on her back. Her toes had electric sparks in them as she looked at him.

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

"But I do." Dottie mumbled. "I worry all the time."

"Cait, can we have a minute?" Fergal asked. "I'd like to talk to Dottie alone."

Her sister sighed. "Yeah. I have to deal with something anyway." She smiled at Dottie, the kind that didn't look right.

She was alone with Fergal, the last time that she was in a room with a man something bad happened. And Fergal was down to just little spandex things, his boots and his jacket in his hand. The door stayed open this time.

"Dottie, look at me." Fergal rubbed her back. "We're friends, aren't we?"

"Yes," she sighed. "But, I don't want to leave Cait."

"I get you have routines, we all do at some points. But I want to spend time with you." His hand went up to her shoulder blade. "I need to get to know you better, Dorothy."

He'd never said her proper name. She was Dot or Dottie to anyone else.

"Why? Why bother?"

"Why? Because," he sighed. "You never stopped believing in me. And do you know what I believe?"

She shook her head. Dottie glanced at his chest where a freckle was sitting on the right side.

"I believe you can do anything you want, if you just believe in yourself."

If she didn't know what she believed in, how could she believe in herself? But his face was calm, tilted to the side and slightly down so that she could look at him in the eye.

"Okay." She nodded. "I'll leave with you tonight."

"Okay. I'll bring this right back." Fergal bumped her with his hip. "Can I have a hug before I go?"

She only had to turn to face him and when she did, Dottie felt his arms go around her upper back, rubbing her shoulders. His beard tickled her the area between her shoulder and neck but he smelt good. A warm heat spread out through her stomach as she reached up to put her hands on his back. With no idea where to put her hands, or what to do with them, she let them rest there.

"I'll be back, Dottie." He rubbed her shoulder when he pulled back.

Then he left while pulling on the red BC logo jacket. He stopped, turned at smiled at her and then finally left.

Her lower lip quivered after he left. Hands shaking, Dottie had to sit down.

Why did Fergal want to do this so sudden? Why was he insistent on taking her out to dinner? Sure she liked him, he was a great guy but…

A tear fell down her face.

* * *

 **I got bored, wrote this. It will be a short story, in four parts. Hope you guys liked it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

There was no television for her to watch the show. Dottie didn't really like using her cell phone, only for calling Cait if something happened, which usually did.

She would have to go out into the hall, alone, and head to the area that was reserved as catering. Mostly it was the hang out area for superstars, a place Cait always rolled her eyes at if she mentioned it. Rami had showed her on his phone Fergal's loss at the pay-per-view, she would have to go watch the show on television in the catering room.

Dottie poked her head out the door. She hated the lights. She blinked under their glares as she watched Cait walk towards the catering area. Even from where she stood she could hear the roar of the crowd and it made her skin crawl. There was no work to be done and since she was the only one in the costume department, Dottie took a deep breath and walked out of the room.

Her need, her obsession to watch Fergal perform sort of overrode the fear of leaving the locker room. Hugging the wall, letting her fingers run over the individual bricks, Dottie walked down the hall, her eyes focused on where Cait was going.

"There you are, babe." Nick Nemeth called out.

Cait shook her head. "What do you want, Nemeth?"

"I heard that you got a babysitter for that sister of yours. Maybe we could…" he started, his body coming closer to hers. "You know, have our own night tonight?"

Drew had been standing nearby. "Hey, Nemeth, that's no way to talk to her."

"Yeah, Nemeth, that's no way to talk to me." Cait moved away from him.

Dottie looked around the area, her shoulder pressed into the wall for support. There was a television on the far side, which was showing the match she was looking for. Finn, Braun Strowman, Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin were out there performing.

"Dot?" She jumped at the voice to her left. "Hey, what are you doing out here?" Colby asked.

He was shirtless, still in his ring pants. Behind him was Joe Anoa'i, or Roman Reigns, but he was talking on his phone.

"I, I wanted to see Fergal's match. Where's the belt you have?" She asked looking at his shoulder.

"Oh, I had to drop it to Ziggler. Cocky asshole has been beaming about it."

She hadn't seen it with Nick Nemeth when he was talking that way with her sister. Biting at her lip, Dottie looked around for Cait, who was talking to Pam, or Bailey. The television in the corner drew Dottie's attention again.

"Want to get a better look at the match?" Colby asked.

"Sure."

"Follow me."

Dottie thought they were just going to walk up to the television, she hadn't expected to walk across the room and to the area where a curtain was located.

"We're behind the stage." Colby said. "You're doing good."

Her hands were shaking and she was looking around. The crowd was louder as something happened out in the ring. A little further away, down a far side, Colby pointed. Dottie's mouth fell open. She could see the announcer table where the three men were located next to the stage. She could see passed them at the ring.

Braun lifted Finn over his head and threw him out onto the floor, on top of his opponents. The crowd yelled loud, super sonic loud and Dottie threw her hands over her ears, turning away from everything. She could still feel the surging pulse of the crowd in her chest and she wasn't even anywhere near them.

Colby's hands grasped her arms and pushed her back the way they came. The roar dimmed somewhat as they returned behind the main stage and headed back to the catering area.

"I'm really sorry, Dot. I didn't think it would be that bad." She sat and rocked.

"What the hell happened? Dottie, what are you doing here?" Cait jogged up to the table Colby had her sitting at.

"I took her to the side stage to see the action. I didn't think it would freak her out." Colby said.

She rocked, taking short and rapid breaths. Dottie was staring at the television, the only thing that she could focus on was the man she had wanted to see perform. But how could she if she freaked out.

"Sounds freak her out, loud sounds. She was kept in a room of twenty people, God." Her sister sat down next to her. "Dottie, sisser, please don't melt down."

She hadn't had one, not in a while. She did when she first started working with Cait because the change was so drastic. Instead of a meltdown, she shut down. Her rocking soothed her, her eyes focusing on the one thing that seemed to calm her down. Though the twisting of her fingers did bring some comfort.

"Cait, I'm really sorry." Colby said. "I thought she would like it. I mean, she left the lockerroom."

"I know, I have a feeling why." Cait sighed. "We'll wait for Fergal here."

"Did you want us to wait with you?" Joe asked.

"No, you guys have to get out of here when the show is over. I'll just stay here and make sure Dot is okay."

On the television, Finn's smile was nice. But her chest ached when Baron pushed him off the top rope and got the cover for the pinfall. A slight sob escaped her mouth. Again, why again? Can't they do anything that won't make him lose a match? Her lips trembled and her breathing picked up as Baron Corbin and Kevin Owens got the win over Finn and Braun Strowman.

Thinking of all his losses, thinking of all the times he had to lose and not make it in the WWE hurt Dottie in the chest. It stabbed at her, the tears gathering in a heated puddle at the edges of her eyes as her vision blurred.

"What happened?" Fergal's voice asked a little while later. "Dottie, are you okay?"

She stared at him. He was sweating from his match, his hands resting at his sides but his face wasn't smiling. She liked his smile a lot but it hurt her when he lost his match again.

"Sensory overload. Colby took her to the side stage during your match." Cait said. "And I think she knows you lost said match."

"Oh, Dot. I told you, it's not the end of the world." He pulled the metal chair up to her. "Come on, Dottie, you know it's entertainment. I don't care if I lose a match. I make people happy."

His hand rested on her knee. His hands weren't overly big, not like Drew McIntyre's. Drew's hand engulfed hers when he greeted her the first time. Fergal's hand was just right for him.

"I make you happy." Fergal added that.

Her eyes lifted. Though her breathing had eased off some, she didn't know what to say. There were words but the function to say them weren't working. Instead, the rocking back and forth eased some of the tension that was building in her body.

"Is the baby crying again?" Nick Nemeth asked.

"Shut the fuck up." Colby seethed as he and the others turned to look at the man.

"Hey, you broke her." The new IC champion said. "And really, why bring something broken on the road?"

"What the hell is going on?" Kurt Angle asked as he approached.

"Sorry, sir, we're having a little issue." Cait said standing up. "Come on, Dottie, let's get you back to the locker room."

"The adult baby is having a problem. You know the same thing every day." Nick said.

Fergal took her hand in his. "Come on, Dottie. I'll take you back with Cait."

"I find it funny you actually want something to do with a retard." The word made everyone in the room stop, even Dottie.

Her reaction was to hide, and the only thing close enough was Fergal. Body sweat and all, it didn't bother her as she looked for the comfort in her obsession. She pressed her body to him and squeezed her eyes closed.

"You fucking asshole!" Cait yelled.

"Nemeth, the hell is your problem?" Mr. Angle yelled. Dottie covered her ears, pressing her face into Fergal's shoulder so she wouldn't have to see or hear what was going on.

Fergal wrapped his arms around her and began moving. He took her away from the drama of what Nick Nemeth had started. Even if she had her hands over her ears, her eyes saw everything in front of her as he moved her through the catering area.

"Sit, Dottie." Fergal instructed, pulling out one of the chairs in the costume department room.

She sat down, hands shaking and her upper half still rocking. Dottie watched Fergal, him turning to Cait as she walked in with Colby in tow.

"What's going to happen now?" Colby asked.

"I think it's best to change plans," Fergal said. "Just a little. Can I travel with you and Dot, Cait?"

"Why?"

"I don't want to see her like this, I don't want to leave her like this." He motioned to Dottie. "Can I travel with you two to SmackDown Live?"

"If you're not busy tomorrow, sure. But we're leaving tonight after the show. We'll get something to eat on the way out."

"Great." Fergal sighed as he ran his hands over his face.

"Cait, I'm really sorry about all of this. I really am." Colby said. "I didn't think it would mess her up so badly."

"I know, you were just trying to help her Colby." Cait looked at him.

Dottie saw the weird way Cait pushed her hair behind her ear. The way her eyes darted around Colby when she turned to look at him. It didn't make any sense, but it was the same way she had been looking at Fergal.

"Everything will be okay." Fergal ran his hand over the top of Dottie's head. When she looked at him he gave a sort of smile. "I'll go get changed and be back to help."

"We have to get our stuff ready to go." Cait said.

Colby looked at Dottie. "I'm really sorry, Dot. I didn't mean any of this to happen." When he knelt in front of her he ran his finger over the back of her hand. "I'm really sorry, Dot."

She nodded. She looked away, watched as Fergal left the room.

"I'll be back after getting ready to go." Colby stood up. He followed Fergal out.

"Come on, Dot. We need to get ready to go." Cait said.

The other costume department workers, some only PAs, came back to help. All Dottie did was pack up her sewing machine and the backpack she always brought with her, which included a sewing kit, extra threads and a book she found at an airport.

As she stood up with her sewing machine in her right hand and just getting one strap of her backpack over her shoulder, Fergal returned. He had a rolling suitcase in one hand and a backpack of his own.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

She nodded, eyes shifting to look at Cait as she was telling one of the PAs where some of the stuff was going to go.

"Hey, Ferg. Yeah, we're ready to go. Thanks guys."

"Did you want to head out right away or are we going to get something to eat?" Fergal looked at Dottie but she didn't answer. "Dottie?"

"She's suffering from selective mutism, Fergal. She's not able to talk. Give her some time."

"I feel like such an ass." Colby said when he stepped up besides Fergal. "I started all of this."

"Don't be, something like this would have happened anyway. We'll work on it." Cait said. "And stop blaming yourself, Rollins. And I'm not heading for dinner. I have to get over to SmackDown Live fast. You're going to have to take her, Fergal."

Dottie almost dropped her sewing machine as she looked at her sister. Cait walked up to her and took the sewing machine case from her.

"You'll be fine, Dot. You're in good hands."

Dottie looked at Fergal's hand. He wasn't touching her at the moment, so no she wasn't in his hands.

"You'll be okay. Fergal will take you out to dinner and then you guys are heading to SmackDown Live. You'll be there tomorrow some time." Cait said. "Okay?"

She nodded, not really sure of what else to do.

Fergal took her hand in his, threading his fingers with hers, and smiled. "Come on, Dottie. Let's get you out of here."

So she followed him. There was nothing else she could do, and in the fog of her brain, some part of her was happy to have his hand in hers.


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

Cars weren't Dottie's thing. They were either big, small, oddly shaped or something. This car was gray, small in shape and newer in years. Fergal had opened her door for her after putting their things in the backseat.

"You'll be fine, Dottie." Cait said before leaving for her own nearby car.

Dottie watched her sister get smaller in the side mirror as Fergal pulled away from the arena. She turned around one last time as they left through a side exit where some fans had been gathered to see off their wrestlers.

"Dottie, turn around." Fergal said.

Scared was not a word she liked to use often. Worried, yes. She knew she worried about a lot of things. Frightened, sure there was that, too. It wasn't knowing that worried her the most. The routine of travel took some getting used to but she was able to figure it out, even if it meant going by bus somewhere. This was different, this was new. Sure she liked Fergal, but she had never been left alone with him before, until that night at least.

"We're going to Denny's." Fergal said as he came to a stop light.

Night time was dark, the artificial lights created sickly orange glows around them as they waited for the traffic light to turn green. Dottie contended with the shadows as she stared out the window as cars from the cross street passed by.

Fergal didn't turn on the radio, he didn't talk as they coasted through the green light. His left hand dominated the top of the wheel, his right thumb just sort of held the bottom of the wheel when she looked at him sideways. There was nothing to play with, except for the hem of her shirt. The rough cotton seam had a ridge to it and she counted four distinct threads on one section of the hem. One, two, three, four, and she would repeat the numbers in her head as she stared straight in front of her.

"Dottie?" Fergal spoke up, his hand on her knee. "Dottie, we're here."

They were in a parking lot of a Denny's restaurant. There weren't a lot of other cars there, and as Fergal unbuckled his seat belt, he reached across and undid her seat belt as well. He got out and then went around to her door to open it for held his hand out to her and she took it. She got out of the car and then they headed to the front of the restaurant.

When they were placed at a booth, Fergal sat next to her and shared his menu. He'd flip from one page to the next slowly, his finger running over the descriptions of food selections. She pointed to the chicken fingers with onion rings, then she looked at him.

"If that's what you want, I don't care." He smiled and brought his arm around her shoulders.

Fergal made his selection and then they waited for the waitress to come back. His fingers rubbed her exposed arm, his eyes focusing on a sports game on a television nearby. When she looked it was a soccer game, FIFA was going on from what she remembered.

"Soccer?" She asked, her voice so low she thought he didn't hear her.

"Football." He said. "I played Gaelic football back in Ireland. But wrestling was my passion."

She raised her head and watched the game. She didn't know much about the sport itself, but there were some strange uniforms that both teams wore. Dottie liked the ones in yellow and white.

"F I F A?" She asked, spelling out each letter with her finger on the table.

"No, university it looks like." Fergal's thumb hooked her sleeve a little bit. "I like England's Spurs. Look, their striker is going for a goal."

The person kicking the ball at the goal was tripped by a red uniform person, stealing the ball to the other side. Dottie glanced at Fergal as he tilted his head.

The yellow team had made a goal by the time their food came out. Fergal pulled his arm from around her shoulders and unrolled the silverware so that he could have his napkin within reach. The chicken tenders were great, if she dipped them in her ranch dressing and the onion rings were just perfect. Fergal had a burger, which dripped ketchup and mayo as he bit into it. When one of the drops sloshed on his hand, Dottie picked up her napkin and wiped it off for him.

"I coulda done that myself." He said as he looked down at her.

Dottie shrugged. "Messy."

"Only when they bleeding put too much sauce on it."

She pointed to his beard where some of the sauce was hanging out as well. He managed to get most of it but some still hung around.

"Better?"

She shook her head and picked up the napkin, dabbing the corner of his mouth where he had missed. Dottie smiled when he was cleaned up again, thanks to her hand.

"Thanks, Dottie. Now eat up."

She went back to eating her own food, while Fergal went back to his hot mess of a burger. They ate in relative silence, Fergal having to wipe his mouth after every other bite until he had finished his burger and some of his fries.

Then he stole one of her onion rings.

"Hey," she looked at him. Dottie looked at his plate and stole a fry.

"Hey," he smiled back.

Fergal bumped her shoulder, still with the smile on his face. Dottie smiled the best that she could.

"There's the smile I like so much." He patted her knee.

They finished their meals, Fergal paid for them and then took Dottie by the hand to get her back outside. But there was a flash of light that came from overhead, which followed by a thunderous roar. Dottie dropped Fergal's hand and covered her ears, bending over.

"Dottie?" He rubbed her back. "Ey, lovely. Come on. It's just a storm coming."

She looked at him, breathing heavy again.

"No wonder you don't leave the locker room during the show." He ran a hand over his head. "I guess we'll have to check in at the hotel. Let's get you to the car first."

She pressed close to Fergal and he guided her back to the rental car. The rain started shortly after getting her in the car and Fergal even helped her with her seatbelt because her hands were shaking so bad. When Fergal got in, he pulled his phone out and dialed a number.

"Cait, yeah, you better not be driving. Look, we caught a storm and I don't feel safe driving with Dottie in it. She's freaking out. Do you mind if she stays with me tonight? Yeah? All right. We'll stick out the storm and meet up tomorrow."

Dottie liked that, she didn't like the flashing lights and the loud noises. They reminded her of those nights at the facility, that place where her mother put her. With her being in the car with Fergal, she felt better, even if her shoulders was up around her ears just in case thunder happened again.

She rocked again, her heart thumping in her ears as she waited for the inevitable. More flashes made Dottie squeeze her eyes shut and she fisted her hands over her face.

"Dottie, please." Fergal said. "You're starting to scare me."

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"No need to be. You're scared, I get that. Would you like to hold my hand so you're not afraid?" He asked.

She took his hand without second guessing, her thumb rubbing over his knuckles. She counted to four, counting each bone she passed over. One, two, three, four and then went back to one again. Dottie felt a little better with her counting, even if the flashes of lightning kept happening every four pass overs of Fergal's knuckles.

Before long they pulled up to a hotel and Fergal parked near the front entrance. The rain was loud against the windshield and as Fergal unbuckled her belt for her, she stayed put.

Fergal ran around to the door and opened the door for her. "Come on, Lovely." He held his hand out.

She grabbed it and they ran for the hotel, Fergal's arm secure around her. Safety hadn't felt so good before.

"I was going to check out after dinner but since we're sort of stuck here I'll pay for one more night and we'll leave early." Fergal said.

She nodded. Fergal went and told the front desk what was going on, and the clerk nodded. He paid for one more night, and then placed his hand on Dottie's back, guiding her to the elevator door.

"Oh no." Fergal said as he rubbed his face. "I forgot your overnight bag in the car. Oh well, I'll give you something to wear for the night."

She looked up at him. No, he wasn't that tall of a man, but he wasn't looming over her like a lot of the men did, not that Drew McIntyre scared her. Fergal was quietly looking at his phone, before he sighed and then looked at her.

"Everything's going to be okay, Dottie." He rubbed her back.

They got off on the fourth floor. Good, four was a good number. Even his room had a four in it, 842, which was a good looking number. Fergal led her in and there were two beds in there, one of which looked slept in and the other didn't. Fergal rummaged through one of his bags before pulling a shirt out and some shorts.

"You can wear this tonight, Dottie." He said.

"Okay." She took the clothes and then went to the nearby bathroom. "Thank you."

She closed the door behind her.

Pulling her hair out of the ponytail she put the tie around her wrist as she pulled her top off. The shirt that Fergal gave her was one of his BC logo shirts, the one that had a rainbow on it because he supported the LGBTQ community. That was good of him, he was nice that way. He'd been nice to her as well and that was really great, she thought he was a great person. For being cute, really, really cute.

Her face went hot as she pulled the shirt on and followed by some elastic sport shorts that went down over her knees. Wearing Fergal's clothes was enough to make her spin in a circle, giggling. She spun and spun, unable to contain herself. Jumbled thoughts of Fergal flashed in her mind, things she had thought before but never really considered.

"Dottie, what's going on in there?" She heard Fergal ask, which was followed by a knock on the door.

She stopped and looked at the door. He didn't open it, but she could hear him. Opening the door, however, Dottie looked up at him.

"I'm happy." She said, still a little hot in the face.

She scooted by Fergal, aware of how close he was and definitely aware of the lack of shirt he'd been without. Dottie went to the unmade bed and sat down on the edge, bouncing slightly. Springy beds were the best, it helped because her body sometimes felt like it was moving when really it wasn't and bouncing made her aware. Aware that Fergal hadn't used the bathroom like she had thought and he came back to sit across from her on the other bed.

"So you're happy? You're not scared?" He asked.

"Not with you, no." She played with the waxy emblem of the shirt, running her fingers over the letters.

He smiled at her. "Want to watch a movie before bed?"

"Um, okay."

There was a television across from the bed that Fergal had been using. There were a lot of movies on that she didn't care for. Dottie did come around to sit with Fergal on his bed.

"Sleeping Beauty?" He asked.

"Okay."

He was leaning up against the head of the bed, ankles crossed. Dottie sat back with him, doing the same with her ankles with her shoulder brushing his. This felt good. She wished it would last for a long time.


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

Dottie woke up scared. The flashing of lights outside the window wasn't what woke her up, it was the boom. She'd forgotten about the storm, even while watching that old Disney cartoon movie with Fergal. When the movie had ended they had gone to their separate beds but the storm was still going on in the middle of the night.

After another flash, which was followed by a rather big boom, Dottie threw off her covers and padded over to Fergal's bed.

Fergal was lying on his right side, facing away from her as she pulled back the covers and slipped into the bed. Just as she was closing her eyes she heard him move.

"Dottie, what's wrong?" He asked, his Irish accent thicker than she'd ever heard it before.

"Scared." She tried to close her eyes but the flashing from outside was bothering her even if the curtains were closed.

"You don't have to be, not when I'm around."

Dottie looked over at him. Fergal was lying on his back but his eyes were closed. He'd moved his head closer to her and she did the same, just to be closer to him.

He was right. She wasn't scared, not with having Fergal so close to her. She was able to fall back to sleep as she listened to him breathing.

She only woke up again when she heard his phone going off. When Dottie opened her eyes again she was closer to Fergal's bare chest, her arm was over it and the blinking of his phone as it continued to make the high pitched screeching alarm sound. Sitting up, she reached over Fergal and grabbed his phone.

His arm wrapped around her hip. "Lovely? What's going on?"

She waved his phone. "Your alarm is going off. Make it stop."

Fergal took it from her. He swiped his thumb over the screen and dropped the phone on the bed next to him.

"It's good to hear you talk, Dottie."

"Yeah, I guess."

"You guess?"

She was looking down at him, looking at the messy hair he had. His pink lips were set in a line as he looked up at her. He was a beautiful man.

"Because I was stupid yesterday. I couldn't stop being stupid."

"No," Fergal took her hand and rubbed her hand. "You're not stupid. You just care. And we'll work on your problems, together."

She always would have those problems. She was sure that there was going to be something of a problem everywhere she turned, something would set her off. Dottie looked down at Fergal's chest, memorizing the lines of his skin, the way his chest rose and fell with each inhale and exhale. He may have been holding her right hand but her left hand was still free.

Biting her lower lip, she reached out and touched his stomach. Was it too much? Was she doing something wrong. Fergal didn't say anything, his eyes were locked on her as her fingers counted six raised abs just under his skin. She made it to his belly button before moving back up again. Six wasn't a bad number, it just wasn't the number she preferred. Four was a rounder number, it appealed to her better but six was just as good.

"Dottie? What's going on in your mind?" Fergal asked.

"I don't know." She answered.

One, two, three and four, his thumb rubbed the back of her knuckles. She liked it, that was for sure. Maybe she could try something, like in Sleeping Beauty. Fergal had nice lips, slightly pouty as he looked at her. His hair was a little messed up but that was expected after sleeping.

Dottie leaned forward, fully intent on kissing him. His eyes moved around, looking at her as she leaned forward more, pressing a hand at the side of his head to keep balance. That's what the prince did when he kissed Sleeping Beauty.

Fergal turned his head away, which meant she managed to kiss his cheek instead.

"No, Dorothy." He moved away, dropping her hand and then sitting up. "No, that's not what I wanted."

She turned away, head down. Her heart beat so hard in her chest, it even sounded in her ears.

"It's bad enough I woke up holding you. That wasn't my intention."

Hot tears prickled at the corners of her eyes as she rocked.

"Dottie, you have to understand, you're my friend." He said.

Friend, it was a five letter word. She liked him, she liked him a lot. Dottie wished from deep in her heart that he had just let her see if there was something there.

Fergal came around to stand in front of her. "Dottie, look at me."

She shook her head and then pressed the heels of her hands to her temples, applying pressure to the already intense pressure there. Her fingers curled over the top of her head as she forced back the sob that got caught in her throat.

"Dorothy O'Connor, you better look at me." He actually sounded mad, something she had only heard as him as Finn Balor when he was in an angle.

She looked up at him. He stood with his arms crossed, his once pretty face marred with a scowl, his lips pulling down at the edges. He was looking at her like her mother usually did if something bad happened.

"My only intention was to be your friend. You need more than just your sister. You need friends."

"I want more than that." She turned her head away again. "I want to be normal. I want to be like my sister."

"Normal? You want to be normal? I'm sorry, Dorothy, but no one is normal. Not even me."

He stood there, she assumed just looking at her.

"And I already have a girlfriend, Dottie." He said. "Cathy, her name is Cathy and she works for the company."

That just made her sick. Her stomach curtled like milk lined with metal weights. She swallowed, only to feel the need to gag, but thankfully she didn't. She stayed quiet in the knowledge of what she just heard from the man she liked too much, from her obsession.

Fergal sighed. "Come on, Dottie, stop being like that. There was never going to be anything between you and me. I just wanted to be nice."

He was nice, at one point in time.

"We need to get ready to go." She heard herself say. "I don't want to be late for work."

She got up and went to the nearby bathroom, hoping to leave him behind at least for a minute.

Fergal had gotten dressed in the time she had been in the bathroom. Dottie had changed into the clothes she had worn the day before, knowing full well her overnight bag was still in the car.

"Are you ready, Dottie?" Fergal asked.

She nodded as she dropped his clothes in his hands. She stood and stared at the door, waiting for him to get everything ready to go. Dottie didn't want to look at him, she didn't want to fall into the obsession again.

"You can't behave like that." Fergal said as he opened the door.

She refused to talk to him. She refused to talk to him on the trip down to check out of the hotel and again in the car ride out to SmackDown. She didn't talk for about two hours that it took to get to the SmackDown Live venue.

Dottie sat in the front passenger seat with her head resting up against the window, hating everything there was about what happened. She was stupid, she told herself that over and over again.

"No one would want to date you." Her mother's voice came through her jumbled thoughts.

She had told her mother that she wanted to date someone and Marg O'Connor had told her that no man would understand her, would like her enough to kiss her. She was supposed to be in the facility because she wasn't normal, she wasn't supposed to be accepted by the rest of the civilization.

Cait proved that time and again that she was good enough. Cait was so sure of herself, but Dottie didn't know how to do that.

They pulled into the venue. Just as Fergal shut off the car she saw her sister approaching. Dottie beat Fergal to unbuckling her seatbelt and then opened the car door herself.

"Dottie?" Cait asked as she looked at her sister. "What's wrong?"

"I want to do work, Cait." She said. "Where is my pass to get in?"

She handed Dottie a pass that was on a lanyard. Dottie looped it over her shoulders and turned back to the car to get her overnight bag out of the car as Fergal got out and walked around to where Cait stood. Dottie didn't dare look at him. She got her things together, knew exactly where the costume department was going to be and went inside.

The costume department was where all of the other ones were located, near the catering area. She didn't bother looking at people as she walked down the hall, she didn't want to talk to anyone, she didn't want to cry in front of anyone. Her brain was in a dark place and she didn't want to snap.

Her sewing machine wasn't set up right, so she got to work to put it up right. She put it in the back of the room where there was a table for her and a chair for her to sit in. There were things that needed to be done and she was going to do it, if just to get out of the real world and focus on the little things like sewing a seam and mending tears.

"Dottie, can I talk to you?" Cait asked. "Why are you mad at Fergal?"

"I thought he liked me." Dottie said.

"He does like you, Dot. There's just a difference between liking someone as a friend and romantically liking someone."

"I want to date someone. I thought Fergal was good enough because he doesn't make fun of me and he seemed to be nice." She sat down at her sewing machine. "So I'm not going to like him. I'm not going to think about him, or his eyes, or his smile. I won't talk to him so I don't have to hear his voice."

"Oh Dot." Cait mumbled something. "There's nothing wrong with not dating someone. There's nothing wrong with just being a friend."

"Then why do you look at Colby the same way I used to look at Fergal?"

"I hate it when you say shit like that." Cait crossed her arms. "Because you're right. I like Colby, but he's not going to like me in return. He's in a relationship, too. I don't know who she is but he's happy."

"But you're not happy."

"No, I'm not happy. But what makes me happy is knowing that he's happy. He's doing okay, he's a great guy to hang out with, to laugh with, to joke around with. Joe's a friend, and he's married. You're friends with Drew, and he's married too. There is nothing wrong with being friends with a guy who is in a relationship."

"He never told me," Dottie said through gritted teeth. "He didn't tell me he was dating someone. I thought he liked me more than a friend. He held my hand, he had his arm around my shoulder when we waited for our food last night. When I couldn't talk more than a few words, he didn't tell me that I was being stupid." She was close to crying.

"Oh Dot." Cait groaned, then rubbed her face. "You probably mistook that stuff as romance. He was just being nice, he was being a good guy."

"He was once."

"That's not fair, Dottie."

"It's not fair that I am not normal. That I will not be good enough for someone to kiss, to say I love you to."

"Being autistic isn't a death sentence, it's not a disease. It just means you don't understand social concepts."

"So I'm retarded. What else is new? The doctors said the same thing, Mom says it all the time. Even Dolph…"

"You're not retarded." The sharpness of Fergal's voice at the door was hard. "Stop thinking like that, Dottie."

She turned her shoulder to him, crossing her arms. _No_ , she told herself. She wasn't going to think about him, his attractiveness, his voice. It hurt her in the chest, it hurt her in the head.

"So that's it? You're not going to talk to me?" He asked.

She refused to answer. Her fingers curled into her upper arms, trying to get a different hurt to enter her head instead of the one she was focused on.

"Dottie, stop that." Cait said. "You're going to hurt yourself."

It wasn't Cait that grabbed her wrists, it was Fergal. He forced her to let go of her arms, even as she tried to wrench herself from his hands, the warm hands that always made her feel safe, she didn't stop the tears.

"Dottie, stop." He said, his accent deepening as he spoke.

"I hate you!" She yelled. "I hate you, Fergal!"

She hated him. She hated that Fergal pulled her to him, she hated his nice smell, she hated that his body felt so good against hers. She hated that his hands cupped her upper back and the back of her head. Dottie really hated that he pressed the side of his face to the top of her head. She really, really hated it that he made her cry. She cried into his shoulder, but she refused to hold onto him because that would be wrong. He wasn't hers, he wasn't going to be hers and it hurt so deep it left some sort of scar on her heart.

"Don't hurt yourself because of this, Dottie." He said. "You'll have to live with being my friend. That's all we ever were, Dottie. Understand that, please."

When she felt him step back, Dottie turned away from him and stood facing the corner of the room with her hands going to cover her ears so she would stop hearing him. She didn't want to see him anymore than necessary. Her cries were all that she heard anymore, the pain in her chest hurt so bad.

She decided that the previous night out never happened.

It was the worst night out she ever had. The sooner Fergal was out of her life, out of her mind and heart, she knew she would be better.

* * *

 **That's the end of this little sordid tale. I hope you guys like it. I'm possibly going to do another installment but I haven't figured out what yet. Thanks for reading, guys. I hope you enjoyed it.**


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